PIERS TWOMEY – STRANGE ADVICE

Sydney singer-songwriter Piers Twomey has been on the local scene for a number of years featuring in groups such as Grun, Quiet Titans, The Fragments and Transporter. Strange Advice is an album that invokes imagery of quiet walks through the woods, fresh air and crisp wilderness, which kind of makes sense when you realise that it was recorded at a home studio in the Kangaroo Valley. His voice is enchanting and honest and he’s got a knack of pulling the heart strings with it such as when he sings on the stirring I Believe You ‘I didn’t know you were the one until you offered me the sun’. His voice is complimented beautifully by the choral of female backup singers and the instrumentation serves well as a soft bed for his singing. The acoustic guitar arpeggios on each track are simple but the melodies are pretty and that remains the case through sections that are played on the organ, harmonica or violin and the use of electronic loops and samples is done so tastefully that it serves to augment the atmosphere of the album rather than feature. Piers has crafted an indie-folk album that is poetic and hauntingly uplifting. It’s an intoxicating listen.

***1/2